Event benefits Chinese victims of earthquake

Members of the Memphis First Baptist Church Choir sing with their children Friday evening during a Memorial Music Ceremony at the Rose Theatre at the University of Memphis.

Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal

Members of the local Chinese community came together Friday night to bring "peace and comfort" to victims of the earthquake on May 12 in Sichuan province.

The Memorial Music Ceremony at the Rose Theatre on the campus of the University of Memphis honored the nearly 70,000 lives lost and the 5 million left homeless.

"We are just trying to help. In poems and music we can express our sympathy for people lost in the earthquake," said Jiang Chen, president of the Greater Memphis United Chinese Association, event sponsor.

"This event provided a platform for those who feel a need to do more."

Xiaowei Yan, a 31-year-old University of Memphis statistics major, said she was lucky that no one in her family was harmed.

"I have a very close friend who lived 200 miles away from the earthquake," Yan said. "He wasn't affected by it, but he saw a lot of people who lost family members."

Yan said it was good to see people volunteering their time to raise awareness and funds.

The 20 high school students in the Multi-Cultural Learning Program at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library rushed to help as soon as they heard about the earthquake.

They made posters and donations boxes and sat outside stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy. They raised $1,700, which they sent to the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

Yuan Yang, an 18-year-old Chinese exchange student at White Station High and a member of the program, said they rushed to help out.

"I was feeling a lot of things. I said, 'I can't do much, but I can help,'" Yang said.

Xue Yan, a 15-year-old student at White Station, said he felt a responsibility to help.